Wire connector



April 14, 1942- M. D. BERGAN 2,279,508

WIRE CONNECTOR Filed June 19, 1940 I7 H I 6 INVENTOR.

MART/N D BERG/1N B 4 Ji ATTORNEY. V V

Patented Apr. 14, 1942 WIRE CONNECTOR Martin D. Bergan, Westfleld, N. J., assignor to The Thomas & Betts Co., Elizabeth, N. L, a corporation of New Jersey Application June 19, 1940, Serial No. 341,278

1 Claim.

This invention relates in general to improvements in electrical connecting devices, and more particularly to a new and useful wire connector.

An object of the invention is to produce a wire connector which can be used for quickly and conveniently connecting electrical terminal wires with the pot head of high-tension transformers,

or with bus bars, or any other service member or part with which an electrical conductor is to be connected without making a soldered joint.

A further object is to produce a wire connector of minimum number of parts, simple in construction', convenient to install, which is positive and efficientv in its electrical contacting connection, and not susceptible of becoming loose once it is installed.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention has relation to the construction and combination of parts as well as the principle herein disclosed and shown by the accompanying drawing illustrating a preferred form or example of the invention, wherein:

Figures 1 thru 5 show several views of the three parts entering into the assembly and combination of this new wire connecting device.

Figures 1 and 2show, respectively, a side and bottom (inner) end view of an expansible anchorage sleeve forming the larger member of the device.

Figures 3 and 4. show, respectively, aside and bottom (inner) end view of a compression sleeve which slidably fits into the expansible anchorage sleeve.

Figure 5 shows a side view of a jam nut which screws into the outer end of the expansible anchorage sleeve of Figure 1 and forces home the compression sleeve of Figure 3 to electrically join a conductor with a bus bar or other electrical conducting member.

Figure 6 shows. a disassembled view of the three parts comprising the device, together with a fragment of stranded electrical cable or terminal wire at the upper part of the illustration,

and a fragment of a pot head or -bus bar or other service member at the lower end of the view with permanent electrical connection and mechanical anchorage.

' Figure 8 shows the ultimate position otthe wire connector parts after the jam nut has been screwed home to complete the electrical connection and establish a permanent anchorage of the device in a bus bar or the like.

Inthe drawing, an electrical conducting wire Cal W is' indicated as adapted to be connected with an electricalservice conducting member M. The latter diagrammatically represents a bus bar or a other service member or part, say the pot head of a high-tension transformer, with which said wire is electrically and mechanically connected.

The electrical service member M is provided with a hole H to receive the device.

This new wire connector comprises three simple parts, to-wit, an expansible anchorage sleeve ill, a compression sleeve II, and a jam nut l2, the parts being indicated generally by these reference characters. These three parts are shown centrally in Figure 6 in axial alignment and in sequence of assembly. The construction of these parts and their function and use in combination will now be explained.

The expansible anchorage sleeve I0 is of uniform external diameter throughout its effective anchorage length and has a threaded bore ll of uniform diameter starting at its outer end and extending part way toward its inner end. A toolreceiving head I5 is made on the outer end of the 'expansible sleeve I0 andusually is in the form of a hexagonal nut. Thus a wrench or other tool can readily grip the knurled or'hexagonal nut head l5 for holding the sleeve l0 when installing this wire connector in service position in the member M. A conical bore l6 leads from the inner end of the threads l4 out throughthe other or inner end of they sleeve Ill. This conical bore, I6 is smooth and gradually. decreases in diameter fromthe threads to the inner or far end of the sleeve. This sleeve I0 is provided with one or more longitudinal splits l1. say four as shown, extending from the inner end back to the tool-receiving head l5 or adjacent the latter. These splits render the major length of the sleeve radially elastic so that it can be expanded for anchorage within the service member M to electrically connect the wire W thereto.

Coming to the compression sleeve II, it is somewhat shorter in length thanthe expansible anchorage'sleeve' l0. The compression sleeve Il may be made appropriately in length comparable with the length of the tapered or conical bore IS in the anchorage sleeve Hi. The compression sleeve II is split throughout its length asindicated at l9, which renders it radially elastic from end to end, and causes it not only to grip-the wire W but also expand the anchorage sleeve ill. The normal expanded size of this radially elastic sleeve II when released enables it to easily slip into the threaded end ll of the larger radially elastic sleeve I 0. vThe compression sleeve H also has an internal bore 20 of uniformdiameter throughout its length for making a sliding fit with the wire W, and this bore preferably is serrated to bite into the wire. The outer ortop portion of the sleeve II is of uniform external diameter as indicated at 2|, but decreases in diameter to its inner end as indicated at 22. Thus the compression sleeve H has a two-stage external diameter, that is, it is cylindrical at 2| to fit the threaded bore l4 and is conically shaped at 22 to fit the conical bore [6. The external taper 22 ofthis compression sleeve ll conforms to the angle of the internal taper l6 of the anchorage sleeve Ill.

The nut I2 is also of sleeve form and has a tool-receiving head, say a hexagonal nut 2|, with a threaded cuif 25 and an internal bore 26 of uniform diameter to receive the wire W with a sliding fit thereinto. Thus the bore 26 of the nut l2 and the bore 20 of the compression sleeve II are the same size for a close sliding fit with the bare end of the wire W after the insulation is cleaned therefrom.

In producing this wire connector, the three parts thereof are formed as above described,

the compression sleeve I I is set into the expansi stop adapted to rest or seat against the electrical service member M.

When ready for use, as indicated in Figures '7 and 8, the device is disassembled as shown centrally in Figure 6, or the nut I2 is loosened sufllciently to let the sleeve ll drop back loose towards the nut and away from the conical bore It. In this way, the bare end of the electrical conductor wire W can be inserted through both the nut and small sleeve II and down into the large sleeve l0. Thus, the assembly of the device and wire W are made ready for insertion into the hole H of the service member M comprising abus bar, a pot head, or other electrical transmission part. V

The anchorage sleeve I now is set into the hole H of the electrical terminal member M (Figure '7) with the shoulder of the tool-receiving head l5 seated against said member, the feel of which to the mechanic indicates that the sleeve is fully bottomed in the hole, and the nut I2 is then screwed home (Figure 8). The screwing-of the nut l2 into the bore I4 forces the compression sleeve II to slide inwardly of the expansible sleeve l0 and as the conical end 22 of the sleeve slides into the conical bore l6 there is produced a substantial pressure expansionof the anchorage sleeve l0 within the member M as shown in Figure 8 and a contraction of the compression sleeve H around the wire W The nut l2 wedges the two coacting sleeves I 0 and II together under great expansive and compression force.

The result is that a true cylindrical contact is established betweenthe entire engaging surface areas of the hole H in the member M and the external cylindrical surface of the anchorage sleeve It. This large-area engagement establishes a permanent mechanical and efiicient electrical connection between the anchorage sleeve II and any service member M, as well as between the cable or wire W and the compression sleeve 20, thereby producing an electrical connection which will not loosen or heat.

This invention is presented to fill a need for improvements in a wire connector. It is understood that various modifications in structure, as well as changes in mode of operation, assembly, and manner of use, may and often do occur to those skilled in the art, especially after benefitingfrom the teachings of an invention.

"Hence, it will be understood that this disclosure is illustrative of preferred means of embodying the invention in useful form by explaining the construction, operation and advantages thereof.

What is claimed is:

An electrical connector comprising, in combination, a single anchorage sleeve of uniform external diameter and of smooth formation externally throughout its length adapted to be introduced into a smooth-bore hole or socket of an electrical-conducting service member, a tool-. receiving head integrally formed on the outer end of the single anchorage sleeve constituting a stop adapted to seat against the servicemember to insure full entry of the anchorage sleeve thereinto, the anchorage sleeve having a bore of threaded uniform internal diameter formed through the tool-receiving head and extending inwardly, the bore gradually decreasing in diameter and formed smooth from the inner end of the threads and'extending through the inner end of the anchorage 'sleeve constituting an internal tapering bore, the anchorage sleeve being split longitudinally from its inner end and extending toward its outer end thus rendering it expansible and adapted for anchorage within the smooth-bore hole of the service member as aforesaid; a compression sleeve also split from end to end thereof thus also rendering it expansible, and being somewhat shorter in length than the anchorage sleeve and slidably carried therein, the compression sleeve having a bore of uniform diameter from end to end and being of a size adapting it to'receive an electrical conductor with a close sliding fit thereon, the compression sleeve having a two-stage external smooth surface, that is, being uniform in diameter starting at its outer end and extending part way toward its inner end, but gradually decreasing in diameter to said inner end forming an external taper on the same angle as the internal tapering bore of the anchorage sleeve; and a jam nut having a smooth bore also adapted to receive the electrical conductor aforesaid with a close'sliding fit thereon, and including an externally threaded cuif screwed into the threaded bore of the anchorage sleeve to force the compression sleeve to slide under pressure within the tapering smooth bore of and toward themner end of said anchorage sleeve, thereby conof smooth-surface formation.

MARTIN n.- BERGAN. 

